Monday, November 15, 2010

11:48 pm November 14, 2010, by Rodney HoThere haven’t been that many moments of conspicuous consumption this season, save for Kim Zolciak and her limo full of luggage when she went to California for that gay party.

But then Sheree Whitfield pops up Sunday night with a brand new Aston Martin. (The cheapest 2011 Aston Martin is $133,750 though since this was shot in the spring, that had to be a 2010 model.)

“I can’t keep putting my desires on the back burner,” she explains. “I’m living now! Can I downsize? Yah. Do I want to? Not really. I’m in a place where I’m happy. I’ts about me.”

Where she got the money to actually buy that, who knows. But according to TMZ, the vehicle was repossessed earlier this month by one of the law firms that she owes money to related to her divorce. (She owes at least $180,000 between the two of them.) I’m not sure which law firm was able to grab it. Reps from both law firms have not returned my calls.

Though Sheree’s spokesman last week declined to comment, Sheree tried to shrug it off to TMZ: “It’s okay, it’s a car, I’ll get another one.”

Sheree spends the episode prepping, then doing a sexy rumba at a charity event called “Dancing Stars of Atlanta,” which was held in mid-May for the Alzheimer’s Association of Georgia. All the ladies minus Phaedra Parks (prepping for her baby’s imminent arrival) show up.

Though Sheree is being her usual diva-like, over-confident self, she actually pulls it off. The editors made it seem like the other housewives weren’t all that impressed (one said it wasn’t that tough of a dance) but she did get 9’s from the judges. Plus, she raised more than $5,000 for the charity, although she felt her housewife castmates were a bit chintzy.

And good news for us: Tiy-E Muhammad, the “love doctor” (but not the real thing), is still in the picture, despite his seeming lack of real wealth or interest in it. Sheree said he’s out of town for the charity event but trailers show him popping up next week. And in episode eight, Sheree finds out the truth about him. (I guess she didn’t Google his name because the facts about him faking his credentials are readily available online. The AJC wrote about it several years ago.)

In other “Housewives” developments:- Kim Zolciak spies Atlanta Falcon player Kroy Biermann, one of the celebrities. She is immediately smitten -especially with his posterior. “You can bounce a quarter off that xxxx. Unbelievable!” Kim emoted. She has him show it off after the dance and they exchange numbers.

The pair are now dating. So the very beginning of the relationship is captured on film. Kroy even wins judges’ choice award at the dance.She also tells Kandi Burruss that she promises to take vocal lessons after Kandi suggested it in last week’s episode.

- Nonetheless, Kandi is still peeved about Kim’s attitude. Even when Kim says she’s “serious about my music,” Kandi is skeptical: “I’ll believe it when I see it.” She prefers to work with Lawrence, Sheree’s hairdresser, who actually has vocal talent.

- Phaedra, as mentioned earlier, is going to have her baby induced. The trailer for next week makes it clear we’ll learn a bit more about the timing of her conception. The ladies in a past episode found it a bit odd that Phaedra has been dancing around her due date and how many weeks along she is.-NeNe’s storyline is not really advanced this week. She shows up at Sheree’s charity event with Gregg, figuring that would be less stressful than having to answer questions about him if he didn’t show up. She does not look happy. And neither does he.

- Cynthia Bailey gets engaged to Peter Thomas. She is the opposite of NeNe: not outwardly emotional. She hates surprises but Peter surprises her anyway by having friends watch him do the proposal. Cynthia loves the ring but would have preferred the proposal been done in a more intimate setting.

She also talks with her mom and sister about why she is having apprehension about the pending marriage. She saw her mom get trapped in a bad marriage with her alcoholic, abusive stepfather and Cynthia has since shied away from marriage. She doesn’t ever want to be dependent on a man.

Quotable quotes“I travel with my own glam team. You have to be skilled to touch this face.” – Sheree, arriving at the “Dancing Stars of Atlanta” charity event.

“I’ve never even seen Sheree snap her fingers.” – NeNe, hearing about Sheree dancing.

“Some people will find it strange that I decorated my office with pictures of myself. And what I have to say to you: eat **** and die.” – the always classy Kim, who renovated her office and her daughter Ariana’s room (cost: $60,000).

“I’m only going to have this baby one time so I’m going to do it with style” – Phaedra, packing for the hospital with fancy gowns and panties.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Who is ciara u ask ?Ciara is a mildly popular transgendered R&B performer best known for his song "Goodies".

Ciara was born Cedric Marcellus Harris in 1985 in Dallas, TX. His family moved to Atlanta and he became a very popular performer on Atlanta's drag queen circuit, performing under the name "Princess Ciara". In 2002, Usher spotted Ciara performing during Atlanta Gay Pride and brought him to the attention of LaFace record executives who quickly signed him to a recording deal. Cedric shortened his stage name to "Ciara" and quickly began recording an album entitled "Goodies" which posted 2 hit singles and went multi-platinum.As Ciara prepared to release his sophomore effort, BET released a list of the 25 Greatest Dancers of all time. The list featured such dance legends as Josephine Baker, The Nicholas Brothers, James Brown, and Michael Jackson. Ciara came in #25. It was an impressive ranking considering he had been famous for all of 2 years, but Ciara nor his stans were pleased. Ciara aired his grievances during his set at the 2007 BET Awards wearing a shirt which said "25?". This was not the best idea. See, when you are a basic bitch you do not anger BET because that's your bread and butter. If Stephen Hill wants you to eat his toe jam, then you get some Ritz crackers and go to town. But this logic was lost on Ciara. Apparently because of the success of "Goodies" Ciara's nipples had gotten perky and he had started feeling his bussy. He felt that because of one hit album and that gotdamn backbend that he was a superstar who could command the same attention and privileges as Beyonce.

Most Ciara stans are what I refer to as "African't Americans". They're like Britney Stans only they're darker, they have no album sales to brag about, and there's only 2 of them.Not all Ciara stans go around fighting with people on the internet, but the ones who do are largely inept and ill-equipped. On a good day Ciara stans MIGHT drag a Keri Hilson stan, but that’s like watching

Because stan groups are usually a direct reflection of artist they stan for it should be of no surprise that Ciara stans rank low in stan wars. Ciara stan defenses range from mildly valid ("Ciara is a better dancer") to downright desperate ("At least she isn't in the Illuminati"). As with Christina Aguilera stans you would think that stanning for someone who has had so many epic failures would make them more humble and sympathetic and you think they would try to ingratiate themselves with stans of more popular artists, but sadly that is not the case. Some Ciara stans continue to fight (and lose) at stan wars.

The BET controversy was just the beginning of several unsuccessful and hilarious attempts at having a successful crossover career with hit albums, sold-out tours, and successful movies. There's nothing wrong with wanting more for yourself and your career but the industry is like a video game. You can’t get to one level until you beat another. And when you are barely good at one genre of music and one facet of entertainment it's extremely difficult to crossover to another. Although Ciara's 2nd album "Evolution" sold over 2 million worldwide her status in the realm of popular music was beginning to waver.As Ciara prepared to release his 3rd album, a series of unfortunate events (single choices, single flops, Single Ladies) slowed down any momentum that had built up. This coupled with Ciara's desperation culminated with the release of the stillborn fetus of an album "Fantasy Ride" and this lead to “The Fantasy Ride Massacre”

Stan Ammunition

* The Goodies era * She's the Princess of Crunk-n-B * A #1 Single * Dancing skills * A lonely and depressed Grammy

Stan Weaknesses

* Criticism over vocal talent * The fact that Crunk-n-B died in early 2005. * The entire Fantasy Ride era * The last half of the Evolution era. * 4 words. Away in the Manger. * The rumor that she has a ding-a-ling * The idea that she is so desperate for Platinum Card fame that she forgot her EBT Card fanbase.

The Fantasy Ride Massacre was a massive internet dragging of Ciara's "Fantasy Ride" album, his alter ego "Super Semen", the single failures, the videos, the live performances, those tobacco field-ass braids, and the overall delusion and obliviousness required to execute a project like that.

Events Leading Up To the Massacre

Ciara and Bow Wow

2005, Ciara began an openly homosexual relationship with socialite Bow Wow. It would be cynical to suggest that this was a made-for-publicity relationship designed to cross market them into mainstream stars, but them on the cover of VIBE didn't help the case. Marketing them as the Dollar General version of Beyonce and Jay-Z was a bit of a failure because Ciara and Bow Wow were barely relevant separately so you can imagine how the general public felt about them as a couple. Sadly, the relationship ended in 2006. It was rumored that Wow Bow had been canoodling with CocoDorm models, but that claim was never substantiated. Wow Bow seemed genuinely distraught over the breakup and took to his song "Outta My System" to lament over how much he missed Ciara and Ciara's dickstroke.Ciara and 50 Cent

In 2008, Ciara parted ways with her manager Philana Williams. The exact reason why was the subject of conjecture in the Black blogosphere (YT blogs didn't really care). Ciara's stans believed that Williams' job was to sprinkle some fairy dust on Ciara, turn her into Beyonce, and have her winning Grammys, selling out arenas, and slaughtering the game. What Ciara's stans (and apparently Ciara and a lot of failing basic bitches) fail to realize is that there is a difference between a manager and a magician. A manager's job is to sell you to the public and help you pick and choose the projects that will help you advance your career. This works best if the general public actually WANTS to buy what you're selling, if you have movie offers coming in, and if producers are willing to give you their top-notch material. An artist's failure has less to do with management and more to do with how the general public receives them. Management can't force talk shows or award shows to put you on, and award shows will only put you on if you are the type of artist to attract ratings from the millions of people in the general public, not from your dozens of your delusional stans. To put it more simply most artists flop because they can't properly promote themselves, but they can't properly promote themselves because they are flops. It's the Basic Bitch Catch-22.Ciara versus Jazze Pha

Ciara also parted ways with Jazze Pha, the producer who established her musical identity. Of course the exact reasons were never confirmed (there was even talk of a lawsuit). Jazze took to the blogs to proclaim that Ciara "wasn't listening"Ciara versus Lloyd

By 2009, Ciara had began catting around town with Kim Kardashian. It would be cynical to suggest that it was a made-for-press friendship, but the fact that they would always been seen at Hollywood hot spots seemed a bit opportunistic and the consensus among the Black blogosphere was that Ciara was using KK for publicity. This didn't really makes sense to me because when I'm at iTunes I don't buy music based on who was photographed with the Kardashians, but then again people are easily influenced. This perceived desperation to sit at the popular girls' table lead to Ciara's former friend, R&B Muppet Llyod to blast Ciara in an interview. He stated:“I don’t f**k with Hollywood b**ches and she’s like one of the chicks that’s just changed along the way with the fame and the money and all of that. I don’t really get down with her anymore on some real s**t. The truth hurts, but it will set you free. But I wish her all the best.”Ciara versus Vibe Magazine

In 2008, Ciara posed for the cover issue for VIBE to promote her 3rd album. It seemed that Ciara and VIBE were going for a sexy, iconic shot that would establish Ciara as a sex symbol (see: Janet Jackson on the cover of Rolling Stone). As with most things in Ciara's career that shoot did not turn out well. Reaction to the cover was not as great Ciara's handlers had planned it to be, and Ciara and VIBE magazine began feuding. Ciara claimed that she had been wearing a bikini in the shoot, but VIBE had Photoshopped it out to make her appear butt-ball naked. VIBE claimed that Ciara was in fact naked in the shoot. At the end of the day it was all for naught. It would be months before her album would come out, and all the cover did was prove that she didn't have a scrotum.

Single Ladies

On October 7, 2008 video for the 1st single for Ciara's 3rd album was released. There were kicks, bends, and splits so Ciara's stans had gotten all they needed. The video was to be the springboard which launched her 3rd album to the top of the charts. Then on October 13, 2008...all hell broke looseLove, Sex, Tragic

In March of 2009, Ciara released her duet with Justin Timberlake (gotta love record label nepotism) called Love, Sex, Magic. The single was not enough to save "Fantasy Ride" from crashing but it did go #1 in India.Super Semen

I refuse.The Actual Release of Fantasy Ride

After the moderate success of Evolution, Ciara stans felt froggy enough to jump and get down downright reckless while hyping Ciara’s 3rd album. They said it would change the game. They said Ciara would show these girls who the true Queen is.#shade Fantasy Ride was hyped as being not only a game-changer but a career changer that would have propelled Ciara from Atlanta-wide R&B star to worldwide pop superstar. But when the album was finally released it debuted behind Chrisette Michelle.Chrisette.Michelle.The Fantasy Ride Massacre was a multi-stan dragging. Beyonce stans, Rihanna stans, even Ashanti and Keri Hilson stans (as if...) all participated in dragging Fantasy Ride across internet servers around the world. Beyonce stans dragged it out of retribution for the shade Ciara threw over the whole “If I Were A Boy/Like A Boy” scuffle. Other stan groups jumped on board because it temporarily distracted them from the failures of the food court employees that they stanned for.After the Fantasy Ride Massacre, Ciara replaced Ashanti as the spokesperson for the harmful effects of Beyonceitis.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Brandin is an NYU graduate who worked at Sony in their A&R department before getting his gig at RocNation. From what we hear he’s quite a looker. He’s described as being a 6’4 lightskinned young man who sports waves and a few tattoos.

Trey and Brandin met in Los Angeles on September 12 — a day before the MTV Video Music Awards. “They’ve been inseparable ever since,” says the source, “but everything is very lowkey.”

Apparently Trey and Brandin have been trying hard to cover their tracks and have a set routine for the hotel stays. The pair are currently staying at the same Seattle hotel where Brandin has a room to himself and Trey does as well. Our source tells us that despite the separate rooms, Trey and Brandin often end up being together for the night.“Everything they do is very elaborate,” the source says of their attempt to cover up.”They don’t ride in the same cars either.”

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

A rapper who perfomed at East Carolina University on Monday was arrested and charged with several marijuana violations, according to jail records.

Cameron Thomaz, 22, who performs under the stage name Wiz Kalifa, was charged with trafficking marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, and maintaining a place for the sale of marijuana.

Thomaz perfomed Monday night at Wright Auditorium and was arrested by East Carolina University police after the show. He was placed in Pitt County Detention Center about 1:40 Tuesday morning in lieu of a $300,000 bond.

Nine others also were booked into the jail about the same time facing the same charges. The men also were arrested by East Carolina University police. It's unclear if the arrests are related.

“About three weeks ago, DeMario Thornton, aka Raz B, released a video recording via the internet of a conversation that we had…DeMario is screaming at me…he has a deranged demeanor and is not acting like a reasonable person,” Houston wrote in the paperwork.

“After I hung up on DeMario, he continued recording himself and falsely accused me of molesting him.”

The restraining order was signed off by a judge at a Van Nuys, California courthouse with a hearing set for November 22.

Houston claims the video was posted on YouTube and was subsequently picked up by various other websites, causing him “emotional distress” and worries that “he would become physically violent towards me and others.”

Thornton was ordered to stay at least 100 yards away from Houston, his home, job and vehicle.